It is often desirable to extend or add to the cargo capacity of a vehicle, particularly in cases of operating a vehicle in an off-road environment, although it may also be desired to extend the cargo capacity of a daily driven vehicle or a vehicle driven on a long-haul trip.
Particularly, off-roading can be defined or referred to as the activity of driving a vehicle on an unpaved or in an unsurfaced area that may include sand, rocks, gravel, mud, dirt, and other like terrain. Due to the nature of off-road terrain or environments, it is common for many off-road enthusiasts to bring various equipment, tools or other items that may be helpful to recover a vehicle in the event the vehicle becomes stuck, or to repair the vehicle in the event the vehicle becomes at least partially inoperable or broken. These items may often include, but are certainly not limited to one or more tow straps, bailing wire, tools (e.g., wrenches, hammers, screw drivers, etc.), shackles, gloves, fire extinguishers, or other roadside emergency equipment.
Simply tossing or storing these items in the vehicle (e.g., in the trunk, rear cargo area, passenger area, back seat, front seat, etc.) is often not desirable in that, while operating the vehicle in an off-road environment, the tools or other items can be tossed around causing damage to the vehicle or, at a minimum, creating a distraction or nuisance to the driver or passenger(s) of the vehicle. In some situations, particularly in the event the vehicle has a removable or partially removable top, such as in the case of a JEEP® WRANGER®, for example, the tools or other items can also be tossed out of the vehicle during off-road operation.
Accordingly, in order to at least partially contain the tools or items, it may be common to place the tools or items in a bag or tool box that is then set into the trunk, cargo area, or passenger area of the vehicle. While this may be used to store some of the items within the bag or tool box, it will still occupy a large area of the vehicle and can still cause a distraction to the driver and passenger(s). For example, the tools or items can still be tossed around within the tool box, and the tool box itself can be tossed around the interior of the vehicle.
Accordingly, there is a need in the art for a storage container or gear box that can securely and easily attached to the vehicle, for example to the exterior of a vehicle, such as, a spare tire assembly, ladder, roll bar(s), roof rack(s), or other equipment, and which can securely retain a number of items, tools, or other equipment therein. It would be beneficial if the proposed storage container is able to universally attach or mount to virtually any sized spare tire assembly or other equipment or portion of the vehicle. It would also be advantageous if the storage container is easily attachable and detachable to the vehicle, allowing the user to easily mount the storage container when needed, and to detach or remove the storage container when it is not needed.
Other advantage of the proposed storage container may include the ability to securely and removably retain the items or tools within the container via one or more retention devices or straps. This would help prevent the items or tools from significantly shifting or bouncing around within the container during off-road operation and allows the retained items or tools to be easily accessed when needed.